Universal Studio Recommendations
 

Hi,
My family and I will be in Orlando in late October - and my kids (all three are teenagers) really want to visit Universal Studios. Any recommendations on the following:

• Hotels near Universal Studios (I have points with Club Carlson and SPG)
• Hotels that can accomodate 5 people (2 adults and 3 teenagers) - or are we better off with two rooms?
• Best place for tickets - and any recommendations on how many days to spend at Universal

We have done WDW before - so that is not on the plan for this trip. We might also plan a couple of days on one of the coasts (Atlantic or Gulf).

Thanks!!

All depends on budget.

1. Stay at a Universal hotel and you will have extra park access as well as priority on rides. But, you will pay more.

2. Most places won't allow 5 in a room unless it's a 2-BR suite. Often those are more than two standard rooms.

I would call Universal and see what they've got for deals around the time you are looking. At least that gives you a baseline.

Definitely stay onsite - the priority for rides benefit is huge.

Loew's Hotels operate the 3 onsite hotels. I'm pretty sure at least one of them can accommodate 5 in a room.

You will be there during Universal's "Halloween Horror Nights". Since your children are teenagers they would probably love it. We have gone over the last couple of years and always had a great time. In fact, we will re-visit next October. Have fun!

You weren't clear on whether you want to see both parks or just Universal Studios, but in either case, one day per park should be plenty. I wouldn't try to cram both into a single day though. Note that the standard ticket is a single part pass, going to both parks in a single day costs more.

Look at the Universal site. Staying in an on-site hotel will be more expensive but the benefits are tremendous. if you stay in a Lowes Hotel on-site you will get unlimited front of the line access to the rides. this is keyed to your hotel card.

Thanks!!! I'll check them out!

Great info - my kids love Halloween!! I just checked it out - and I think it would be right up there alley (a dark scary alley!)!!

We'll probably want to visit both parks - so it sounds like we'll probably want either a 2 day or 3 day pass - thanks for that info!

Great info to know! I'd like to use some of the points I've acquired - but this is definitely worth looking into - for the benefits it provides, too.

If you buy the HHN addon to your park tickets it's a lot cheaper than buying them standalone, and you don't have to use them on the same day. Weds, Thursday, and Sunday are cheapest and marginally less crowded, but all nights will probably be wall-to-wall people. I always aim to get there 15-30 minutes before the official opening time, they usually start letting people in a few minutes early, and if you move quickly, you can get into two or three haunted houses before the lines get to be an hour long. Try to hit the most popular ones first, those will have the worst lines as the evening progresses. Check the map carefully though, it's not unusual for a couple of them to open an hour or so after starting time.

Costco sells a 3-day pass for about $148. Covers both parks and has a few other perks. Don't see it online, but it was in my local store this week.

If you plan to go back to Universal within a year, an annual pass would probably work better, but this sounds like an option for you.

And plea let us know if you find a decent way to get 5 in a room at Universal.

I do believe all three hotels will allow 5 persons in their standard 2 Queen rooms. (I definitely know the Royal Pacific does as I always tell them I have 5 persons in the room so I can get 5 room keys. Note that the room keys are your Front of the Line access ticket throughout the parks.)

The rooms at the Portofino will generally be the largest of the three onsite hotels, but it will also tend to be the most expensive. The Royal Pacific is the least expensive of the 3 onsite hotels, but the rooms are also the smallest.

This sounds great - I'll check them all out!! Thanks!

We just recently had a Costco open near us - so maybe it's time to check it out! Thanks for the heads up!

The Halloween Horror Nights is an extra cost. Be aware that this is a very scary adult type event. Nothing sexual, but very bloody and gory. So make sure that the kids want to be very scared and like slasher type movies. I stay away at this time of year because even during the day some of the props look to genuine for my tastes.

Staying on-site is really the way to go if you can swing it. It gives you so many benefits. You can walk to the parks and come back to the hotel for a break or swin whenever. If you stay at Royal Paciic you can walk or take a boat to the park. Check it out on their website.